Postmen collecting donations for people impacted by Telegraph Creek wildfires

The Postmen are collecting donations for people impacted by the fires near Telegraph Creek in northern B.C.

Two large wildfires are currently burning out of control near Telegraph Creek. The 7,800 hectare Akali Lake Fire and the 6,000 hectare Stikine River Fire have been made difficult to fight by extreme drought conditions and winds in the area, says Heather Rice, a fire information officer with the BC Wildfire Service. So far, 27 structures have been impacted by the fire.

The Postmen are a non-profit, non-charitable organization run by volunteers who collect donations for victims of natural disasters. Dave Llewellyn, the media director for the Postmen, describes the organization as “a group of people who rally together to look for help for people in times of need.”

While they are not a registered charitable organization, they’ve helped out with wildfire and flood recovery in the past. Llewellyn says their volunteer network has expanded across the country, and even into the United States.

They have volunteers across the province currently collecting donations for the people affected by the Akali Lake Fire.

While the Postmen can’t accept cash, everything they do collect is hand delivered to those in need by the Postmen themselves.

“That’s what the Postmen do,” says Llewellyn. “When we collect donations we don’t hand it over to other organizations to give it to the people in need. We actually take it directly to the people in need ourselves.”

Anyone in the Quesnel area interested in donating can contact Dave Llewellyn at 250-747-9809.